In the Name of Love
by pompomcheer1003
Summary: When an old friend of Colby's comes and joins the team, will more than just friendship be revealed?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Did everyone get my memo?" Don Eppes asked his team.

"The one about the new teammate?" Megan asked, looking at her boss, when he nodded, she replied, "Yes,"

"Yeah, same here," David confirmed

"New teammate, what?" Colby asked, confused.

"Oh, come on, Colby, we were so close to a perfect memo distribution!" Don replied, mock-aggravated.

"Ok, so new teammate, what's this about?" Colby continued.

"We have a new teammate joining our team today, she should be here soon,"

"Cool, who is it?" Colby asked, curiously.

"Her name is Mallory Johnson, She transferring here from our office in Islamabad, Pakistan,"

The team heard the elevator ding, and the doors open.

"That's her, now," Don informed the team.

She walked over to her new team, when she looked at Colby, she immediately smiled, "Granger?"

He stood up and walked over to her, "You betch'a, Johnny,"

Her smile grew, "Ew! Don't call me that!"

"Since when is it not Johnny?" Colby asked, surprised, also smiling, "You've always been Johnny!"

"I know, but, when I became an agent, it just wasn't professional enough, so, yeah," She explained.

"I take it you two know each other?" Don asked.

"Yeah, we grew up together, we were neighbors." Colby explained, looking into her eyes.

"Ok, well, she doesn't know us yet," Don said, holding out his hand for her, "My name is Don Eppes."

She shook his hand, "Nice to meet you, Mallory Johnson,"

Megan and David both introduced themselves and sat back down at their desks.

Just then, the desk phone started to ring, Don picked it up, "Eppes,"

He had a quick conversation with the person on the other end of the receiver, he hung up.

"We've got two dead hikers in the mountains. Pack your bags, we're going to be there for a while." He informed them, "Be back here in an hour, and we'll all leave together,"

The team members nodded and walked out of the office building. Colby stopped Mallory before she get into her car.

"Haven't seen you in almost ten years and I don't even get a hug?" He said to her.

"Well, no offense, but that last time I saw or heard from you was seven years ago," She said, bitterly.

"Where did my nice little Johnny go?" He asked her.

"I stopped being your nice little Johnny years ago, when you stop returning my calls,"

"You have to understand, I had a job that I needed to do, and I couldn't drag you into with me,"

"I don't have to understand anything, Colby," She said, turning around attempting to get into her car.

Colby grabbed her arm, and turned her around, pressing his lips against hers. At first Mallory resisted, but then relaxed, resting her hands up against his chest. He pulled his lips away from hers.

"I have to go," Mallory said, turning around and getting into car, and driving away. Colby stood in the parking lot for a few minutes before turning around and getting into his car, driving to his house.

He quickly packed a bag a picked up his phone. He dialed Mallory's number that he knew by heart. Her phone began to ring, and she picked it up. Colby's name came across the front. She took a deep breath and slid her finger across the screen on her phone, answering it.

"Hello," She said, into the phone.

"Hey, you done packing?" He asked.

"Yeah, you?" She responded, not sure where he was taking this conversation.

"Yeah, where are you staying?" Colby said.

"Um, in an apartment building about ten minutes from the office," Mallory responded, "Why?"

"I need to talk to you, can you give me the address so I can come see you?" He asked, sweetly.

"Yeah," Mallory responded, giving him the address, and waiting for him to arrive.

When he walked in the door, she had settled in on the couch with a cup of tea. He slipped off his shoes and sat down next to her.

"Just give me a minute to talk, before you say anything," Colby responded, seeing her sip her cup of tea.

She nodded, and waited for him to continue.

"After that night…" They both knew what night he was referring to, "It was so hard for me to leave, I didn't want to, but it was something that I had to do,"

She stared contently at him, occasionally sipping from her mug.

"I also didn't want to lose contact with you, but I got assigned to a job where I couldn't keep any of my old ties." He explained, seeing she was going to say something, "Just let me finish…"

She settled back into the arm of the couch, and listened contently.

"I wanted to tell you, I really did, but everything was classified," He finished, "You can talk now,"

"It's just, I couldn't bear it when you first left, the only thing keeping me from breaking down was the contact I had with you, after we lost contact…" She couldn't even finish her sentence; she was looking down into her mug, running her thumb across the rim of it.

"I'm so sorry, Mallory," Colby apologized, seeing her set her mug down on the coffee table in front of them.

"I have a question," Mallory admitted, sliding closer to Colby on the couch.

He looked at her and Mallory took this as a sign to continue, "What you said that night…" She started, not taking her eyes off of his, "Was it true?"

He smiled slightly, "Yeah, it was…" he bit his bottom lip, and grabbed a hold of her hands, "It still is,"

She took a deep breath and connected her lips with his, forcing his back down to the arm of the couch. She put her hands on his chest, to hold herself up over his body. He swung his legs up onto the couch, and she laid down next to him; his arm securely wrapped around her body. She briefly separated her lips from his to catch her breath, before connecting them once again.

"If Don found out he would kill us," Colby muttered in between kisses.

"Does it look like I care," She replied, the scene vaguely reminding her of the night that they had talked about earlier.

_Flashback:_

_ Mallory carefully trotted into Colby's house. Colby heard someone enter and walked downstairs._

_ "Johnny, what are you doing here?" He said, almost coming across as angry._

_ "Where's your mom?" She asked, hesitantly, ignoring his previous question._

_ "She's not here," Colby replied, still wondering why his friend was here._

_ "Good,"_

_ "What?" He asked confused, "Johnny, you know that I'm leaving for basic training tomorrow, let's not make this any harder than it has to-"_

_ He was cut off by Mallory grabbing onto his thin cotton t-shirt, pulling his lips down to hers. At first he didn't react, but as soon as he realized what was going on, he wrapped her meager body in his strong arms. She grasped to his t-shirt tighter as she slowly released his lips._

_ "What was that for?" Colby asked her, keeping his eyes locked on hers._

_ "I just needed to do that…. If I never get another chance," She replied, releasing his shirt, and stepping out of his embrace, turning around towards the door._

"_Mallory," He sighed, looking at her with despair visible in his eyes._

_She stopped, and abruptly turned around when she heard her first name come out of his mouth._

"_You just called me Mallory," She whispered, barely audible. The last time she remembered Colby calling her Mallory was when they first met, and he hadn't started calling her Johnny yet. That was when she was five, and he was seven. Now, eleven years later, he finally used her first name again._

"_Don't go," Colby pleaded. Walking to Mallory, and gently brushing a piece of hair away from her face._

"_This is just going to make it harder for you to leave, you said it yourself," She replied, her voice breaking, tears forming in her eyes._

"_I don't care anymore," He said, desperation present in his voice, "When I leave tomorrow, I don't want to have any regrets," He cupped her face, tenderly in his hands. Gently brushing his thumb against her cheek bone, "and we might not get another chance."_

_She nodded slightly, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. He bent down and connected his lips with hers once again. Mallory reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling down slightly to keep him there. Colby's hands had found a place resting on her hips._

_He guided her, and pressed her body against the wall. She was now squished in between his solid body, and the wall. Mallory pulled back slightly, taking a breath of air, and easily reconnecting her lips with his once again. His hands roamed down past her butt and to the back of her thighs. Colby easily picked Mallory up, maneuvering her legs to wrap around his waist. She clung to his body, tightly. He pressed his tongue up against her lips, deepening the kiss as it entered her mouth. Mallory had her hands planted firmly in his thick brown hair. Running her fingers through it as she kissed him. _

"_Bedroom?" He panted, waiting for her response._

_She nodded shyly, clinging to him tighter as he walked up the stairs, and swung the door to his bedroom open, reconnecting his lips with hers once again as he kicked the door shut, he pressed her back up against the closed door. Colby moved his hands from under her thighs, to her back. She dropped her legs to the floor, using his neck for balance as she rose up to her tip-toes, she still had to pull his head down to keep their lips connected. She was a considerable amount shorter than he was, in retro-spec; she was a considerable amount shorter than a lot of people, only being 5 feet even. _

_She was again, sandwiched between Colby and a wall. He released her lips as he moved his down to her neck. She planted sweet kisses against the side of his face. Mallory moved her hands from his hair, and latched her fingers onto two of his belt loops, pulling her towards him. As his entire body connected with hers, she could feel that he was hard. Even with her on her tiptoes she could feel this just barely above her pant line. _

_He reached down and started to un-tuck her shirt from her pants. She pulled away from the kiss, and he pulled the article of clothing up and over her head. She was wearing a simple beige bra, and in all the years of their friendship, she had never been exposed like this with him. _

"_You're beautiful, Johnny," Colby whispered seductively into her ear. She smiled slightly, tugging at his shirt, barely pulling it off his head, even with his help. He ran his hands up and down her back, doing this made her gasp._

_He looked at her concerned, stopping his motion for a moment. _

"_You're hands are cold," She explained, gazing into his hazel eyes. _

"_Sorry," He said, his voice barley there._

"_I'll live," She replied, smiling at him while reconnecting their lips once again. _

_They both made their way over to his bed, and collapsed onto it. Mallory pulled on Colby's belt buckle, undoing it, and waiting for some sort of response before undoing his pants. Colby smiled, and reconnected his lips with hers, her hands were still holding onto the top of his pants. While he was kissing her, she undid the button, and carefully pulled down the zipper. She used her hands, and pulled them down to right above his knees. She used her foot to get them down to his ankles, where Colby was able to kick them off, they both heard the belt that was still looped into the pants, clank as it hit the ground. He was left in just a pair of dark blue boxers._

_Colby reached down and pulled on her pants, making the button pop loose and the zipper open. He assisted her in wiggling out of them. They were both just left in their under ware. They continued kissing and they were both losing their patience. He reached under her, and undid the clip holding her bra on. He pulled the garment loose tossing it to the floor. _

_He began kissing the skin that he just revealed. He could tell that Mallory was very self-conscious, especially in front of him. _

"_Sweetheart, you are so beautiful," He whispered to her, gently pressing his lips against her chest._

_The way that he had just called her 'sweetheart' put her over the edge. She wanted him so badly. _

"_Colby," She breathed, begging for him to stop teasing her. _

"_Johnny," He said, in between kisses._

"_Take me," She pleaded, "Make me yours,"_

"_You sure?" Colby responded, already moving his hand to the top of her panties._

"_Yes," Mallory replied, reaching up and grasping onto his neck. _

_He nodded and pulled her panties off of her, leaving her completely naked under him. She reached up and pulled on the elastic in the waist band of his boxers. She pushed his boxers down, and they both were completely clothes-less. She arched her back up, grinding her hips against his. _

_He groaned as she continued, which only made her execute her action more fiercely. He wrapped his arms around her as he rolled them over, both of them lying on their sides. She used the little bit of momentum that he had created by rolling them over, to keep them rolling until she was on top. _

"_You like control," Colby concluded, smirking, "I like it,"_

"_Shhh…" She said, kissing him again, straddling his waist. _

_After a few more minutes of feverish kissing, he spoke up one more time._

"_You ready?" He asked._

_She nodded, feeling him flip them over once again, so he was on top again. She felt him settling himself in between her legs; she wrapped her legs around his waist, as he slowly lowered himself into her. She could feel a sharp bite of pain as it first begun, but soon evolved into a pure bliss. Her hands grasped at his back. He began to move in and out, and she moaned. _

_He covered her mouth with his, preventing any more noise from coming out. _

_His hands found her hair, and pulled it back from her face. He planted kisses all around on it. She groaned again, pulling down on his neck. He pulled out of her, and collapsed on the bed next to her. He grabbed the blankets that were now wadded up at the end of the bed, and pulled them over their bodies. Her head rested on his chest, both of them breathing heavily, his fingers combing through her hair._

"_You alright?" Colby asked, feeling hers and his breathing calming._

"_Yeah," She replied, tilting her head back, meeting his eyes with her own. She saw the doubt in his eyes, "I'm perfect, Colby,"_

"_You'd let me know if anything was wrong, right?" _

_She nodded, running her fingers through the small amount of hair on his chest. They laid in silence for several moments before Colby noticed her breathing getting uneven again. He didn't think anything of it until he felt a drop of water on his chest._

"_Hey," Colby said, sweetly, seeing her face turn up to his, and the tears in her eyes and a few streaming down her face. He gently brushed his thumb against her cheek, "What's wrong?"_

"_I don't want you to leave," Mallory admitted, closing her eyes and enjoying his company._

_Hearing the words come out of her mouth almost broke his heart; he slowly sat up and drew her into his arms. _

"_It's gonna be alright," He soothed her, running his hand up and down her back, and into her hair. _

_He didn't know how bad she wanted to believe him, but she just couldn't. She buried her face in his chest, and shivered._

"_You feeling a little better?" He asked._

"_Yeah, I guess," She said, "A little cold,"_

"_I can fix cold," He replied smiling, grabbing a fleece blanket from the end of the bed. He pulled it over her body, along with the other blankets on his bed, and wrapped her in his arms._

_She snuggled in close to his body, and pulled the blankets up to her chin. She rested her arms across his waist, and put one of her legs in between his, rubbing her foot along his calf. _

"_I don't want this to end," Mallory said, closing her eyes, gently kissing his chest._

"_I don't want it to, either," Colby admitted, running his fingers through her hair again. _

"_Then don't," She pleaded, looking at him, desperation transparent in her eyes, she intertwined her fingers with his, "Stay here, with me,"_

"_You know I have to go tomorrow," Colby reasoned, gently squeezing her hand, "There's no getting around it,"_

"_I know, but I have you right now," Mallory replied, "Let's not think about tomorrow, until we have to,"_

"_Alright, all that matters is right now,"_

_She nodded weakly against his chest, she could feel a gentle midnight breeze coming through his window that was cracked open.__ Just then they both heard the front door open, and shut once again._

"_Colby, you still awake?" His mother called from downstairs; even know she knew that he was._

"_Yeah, mom," He called._

"_Crap," Mallory said, frantically sitting up and looking around, although she wasn't exactly sure for what._

"_Hey, calm down, it's gonna be all right," He said, calmingly, sitting up behind her, and wrapping his strong arms around her fragile body. _

_They could both hear his mother coming up the stairs._

_She walked up to his door, and knocked, "Can I come in, sweetheart?" _

"_Um, I'm really trying to get some sleep, Mom," He replied, hopefully, wrapping his arms even tighter around Mallory._

"_Alright, honey, I'll let you get some sleep, let me know if you need anything," She said, and they both heard her walk away._

_Mallory let out a breath that she didn't notice that she'd been holding. _

"_That was close," She whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. _

_He nodded, and rested his head on her shoulder, his arms still tightly wrapped around her body. Mallory reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He slowly began running his hands up and down her back. He tilted his head up, and gently connected his lips with hers. It was gentle and passionate and when he pulled away he rested his forehead against hers._

"_I just want you to know," He whispered, gently running his fingers through her hair, "I love you, Mallory Amber Johnson,"_

_She was taken aback by his statement at first, her hands rested against his chest, "I love you, too, Colby Ashton Granger,"_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Mallory's head rested on Colby's chest. His fingers gently ran through her hair. They both were lying on the couch, Colby halfway lying under Mallory.

"We should go," Mallory told him, looking at the clock hanging on the wall and seeing that their hour was almost up.

"Yeah," Colby replied, sighing.

Mallory pushed herself off of his body, and stood up, reaching her hands out to Colby. He took them, and stood up. The both grabbed their bags, and walked out of Mallory's small apartment down to their separate cars, driving to the office.

"Ok," Don said, "We've got two hikers that were found dead about an hour ago, we aren't sure what happened…"

The team nodded.

"One team of two, and one team of three," Don informed, tossing a set of keys to David.

"David, you're with Colby and Mallory," He informed, seeing the three nod, "Megan, you're with me," she nodded and grabbed her duffle bag.

"This is the address, it's a small motel about a mile away from the crime scene," Don said, "We'll meet there as soon as we all get there,"

"Alright," David said, walking out of the office, with Colby and Mallory following.

The three walked down to the car garage, and climbed into the car that the keys Don had given to them. David got into the driver's seat, Colby in the passenger seat, and Mallory in the back. David pulled out of the garage, Megan and Don pulling out behind them. The drive to the mountains was a little over two hours.

"So, how long have you two known each other?" David asked, glancing over at Colby.

"I don't know," Colby answered, looking back at Mallory.

"Twenty years," She informed them.

"That's a long time," David said, not sure what else to talk about on the long drive to the mountains.

Colby's phone started to ring, and he answered it, "Granger,"

"Hey, it's Don," Don said, "We need to kick it into high gear, they're expecting rain,"

"Great, just what we need," Colby replied, "We're still an hour out, and that's with breaking speeding laws,"

"Get up there as soon as possible, if we're not up there when you guys get there, just get to the crime scene and get as much evidence as you can before it rains," Don informed them, "If we get up there first, we'll be at the crime scene."

"Ok, we'll get there as soon as possible," Colby said, hanging up, he turned to David, "Apparently, we're expecting rain at the crime scene and we need to get up there as soon as possible,"

David pushed down on the pedal a bit more, accelerating, "Don said not to worry about going to the motel first, just get to the crime scene," Colby informed.

"Alright, we should get there in about an hour," David said, continuing to drive.

"So, Don said before you arrived," Colby began, talking to Mallory, "That you were transferring from the office in Islamabad, Pakistan… What were you doing over there?" 

"Well, after I got done with school and training, that was where there were job offers," Mallory replied, "I guess that's just where I ended up,"

"Had you been waiting for a job back in the states?" Colby asked, curious as to why she came back.

"Yes, and no," She answered, "I had wanted to come back state-side for a while, but I also liked it there, too,"

He nodded in response.

It was David's turn to ask a question, "What made you want to be an FBI agent?" 

"Well…" Mallory thought about the question a moment before answering, "I think what really pushed me to become a FBI agent was the fact, that when I was younger I lost my best friend to the war," Colby immediately knew she was talking about him, he couldn't tell if David knew or not, "I just wanted to help prevent wars from happening, so I wouldn't have to go through that again,"

David nodded, the rest of the car ride was pretty much silent, other than a few small conversations. David pulled into the driveway of a state park, where Don and Megan had just arrived.

"Hey guys," Don greeted, pulling out a crime scene kit from the back of the truck.

"Hey," The three greeted all wearing FBI Agent jackets. The five walked up the small trail to the crime scene where they could easily see the large storm clouds rolling in.

"We need to get a move on," Don ushered, quickly collecting evidence, while the rest of his team took pictures, and examined the body.

"The rain's coming in, get the bodies packed up," He said, seeing David and Megan putting the bodies in the body bags, and placing them on gurneys wheeling them down to the trucks.

"OK, Megan, why don't you head back to the office, we need to get these bodies in for an autopsy, and take the evidence back for analysis, David, Colby, Mallory and I will stay up here to question people coming through here, and look for anything left behind after this storm," Don informed, seeing Megan climb into the driver's seat of the truck her and Don had driven up there.

"Alright," She agreed, "I'll see you guys when you come back,"

"See ya," Colby bided, the others offered other forms of goodbye.

"Let's take a look around the area, before this rain comes in," Don ordered, after Megan pulled away.

"Right," Colby said, "Johnny and I can take a hike higher into the mountains seeing if we can find any sign of murder, right now, though, it looks like these two just took a nasty fall."

"Ok," Don agreed, "You two, see where the blood trail starts, any sign of a fall document it and try to get back before the rain starts, I don't like the idea of two of my agents up on this mountain when it's raining,"

"We'll be careful, Don," Colby said, starting to walk off, up the trail, Mallory following closely behind.

Don turned to David, "Let's take a closer look at the crime scene, see if we can find anything else,"

David nodded, and the two men walked up to the crime scene.

Mallory followed closely behind Colby, both watching their step, not wanting to take the same fall their victims had taken if that is what had happened.

"Hey," Mallory said, getting Colby's attention, "What's this?"

"Be careful, that's really close to the edge," Colby said, walking over to her.

"I'll be fine…" Her sentence was cut off by a rock slipping out from under her, sending her flying over the edge of the mountain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Colby rushed over to the edge of the mountain, where Mallory had slipped over the edge. The rain had started to come down, although lightly, it was coming down harder by the minute. He reached up and wiped the rain dripping down his face. He leaned down, and looked over the edge.

He let out a huge sigh of relief as he could easily see Mallory lying down on a ledge, not too far from the edge. He eyes were shut, and from what he could see she was unconscious.

"Mallory!" He yelled, hoping that she would hear him, "Mallory!"

He could see her eyes flutter open.

"Oh, thank God," He muttered, "Are you alright?"

"I think so, killer headache," She responded back, attempting to sit up.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to get you up without going back down to the truck," Colby said, seeing her carefully stand up on the ledge, holding onto a branch slightly sticking out.

"I think I'll be able to climb up, it's not that far," She said, settling her foot on a sturdy rock.

"I'm not so sure…" Colby started, but saw that she had already started climbing toward him.

He had no doubt in her ability to climb, when they were in high school they would constantly be at a local climbing facility, and practice. He saw her getting closer to him and as soon as she was within his reach, he reached down and grabbed her arm, pulling her up to him. He pulled her into his arms as she regained her ground.

"Don't ever do that again," Colby instructed her.

She nodded against his chest, feeling the rain pouring down on them.

After several minutes, she stepped out of his embrace, grabbing onto his hand, beginning to walk down to the truck to drive to the motel. At the bottom of the mountain they saw Don and David, and immediately released eachothers hand.

"You guys alright?" Don asked, seeing Mallory looking almost stoned.

"Yeah, were good," Mallory responded, quickly, looking at Colby.

"Ok, let's get to the motel, better check in now, before we all get too wet," Don ordered, walking to the truck David, Colby and Mallory had driven up.

He climbed in the driver's seat, David in the passenger seat, Colby and Mallory both in the back, soaking wet. When Don pulled into the driveway to the motel and parked, the four got out and walked into the main office.

"Hello, need some rooms?" The young lady behind the desk asked as the agents walked up to the desk.

"Yeah, two room, with two queens each," Don said, pulling the company credit card out of his wallet.

"We only have one room left with two queens, sorry," The women said.

Don looked to his team, "What do you guys want to do?" he asked.

"We have several rooms with a King," The women informed them.

"Colby and I can take it," Mallory said, the three men looked at her, surprise in their eyes.

"We've slept in the same bed before, we have been friends for twenty years," She said, innocently.

"Makes sense," Don said, "We'll take it,"

After the team got checked in, they walked back out to the truck to get their stuff. The rain was still coming down hard, so when they reached their rooms, they were all soaking wet again.

Colby and Mallory both put their bags down on the bed, and looked at eachother.

"Are you sure you're ok, because you seem like you're in a lot of pain," Colby said, walking over the other side of the bed, where Mallory was standing.

"I'll be fine," Mallory insisted, looking up to him, "Alright… I have a headache, and my back hurts, but… please… trust me, I'll be fine"

He nodded reluctantly, "You let me know if anything's wrong, alright," 

"Ok…" She said, smiling slightly.

"I'm serious, Johnny," He said.

She smiled, "Alright… I'll let you know if I'm in pain!"

"Ok, make sure you do!"

"I will, now, I'm going to take a shower," Mallory informed him, grabbing her night clothes out of her bag, and walking into the bathroom.

He smirked, walking around to his bag and rummaging through it.

Don and David set their bags down on their beds.

"So, you and Liz still going strong?" David asked Don, pulling out his gun a turning the safety on, setting it on the bed.

"Yeah, it's going good," Don answered vaguely, "You seeing anybody?"

"Yeah…" He said sarcastically, "Ah.. No, nobody right now,"

"Comes with the job, man," Don said, "You never have time off… Don't know when your hours are gonna be… hard life,"

"Tell me about it," David replied, "I love my job, but, doesn't really leave much time for a relationship,"

"Yeah, I think the only reason why Liz and I can keep a relationship, is that we both understand the job, we both know why we can't have a normal eight to five work schedule." He said.

"Definitely, man," David replied, transitioning to a different subject, "You want to take a shower first, or me?"

"You can take one first, that's fine, I'll grab one after you," Don answered.

"K, thanks," David answered, grabbing his clothes for after his shower, and walked to the bathroom.

Mallory lay on the bed after her shower, waiting for Colby to get done with his. He walked out of the bathroom, and noticed that Mallory was wearing a pair of pink pajama shorts, and a white tank top. Around her neck was a chain, that he instantly recognized.

"You still wear that?" Colby asked, knowing she knew what he meant.

"Never took it off," Mallory informed him.

_Flashback:_

_ Mallory and Colby both walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand, walking to the bus station, where Colby would leave for basic training. Right before they reached the station Colby stopped and drew her into his arms._

_ "I'm so sorry I have to do this," Colby said to her, nuzzling his nose into her hair._

_ "I know," Mallory replied, looking up to him, and connecting her lips with his._

_ "I'm going to miss you so much," He said, after she released the kiss._

_ "Me too," She agreed, wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly._

_ "Here," Colby said, pulling back a little bit, reaching around his neck, and pulling on a chain, yanking it off his neck, "I want you to have these,"_

_ "Colby…" Mallory stuttered, as Colby lay the dog tags his father wore when he was in the service in her hand, "I can't, these are all you have left of him,"_

_ "I want you to have them," He repeated, "When I join, I'll get my own anyway, I'll have to take them off,"_

_ She shook her head slightly, a singly tear streaming down her face, "Thank you,"_

_ Colby smiled, wrapping his arms around her once again._

_ "I love you, Mallory,"_

_ "I love you, too, Colby,"_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_He rushed over to the edge of the cliff, looking down to see if Mallory was alright. He looked down and saw the bloody corpse of his lover lying on the cliff. _

"Colby!" Mallory said, shaking his shoulder, "Wake up!"

His eyes shot open, his breathing ragged.

"You alright?" Mallory asked, running her fingers down his slightly sweaty face.

His breathing still ragged, he whispered, "Yeah…"

"You wanna talk about it?" She asked him sweetly, lying down next to him.

"No..." He answered, weakly, still breathing heavily.

"C'mere," She invited, opening up her arm for him. He moved his head onto her shoulder. She gently ran her fingers through his thick hair.

"Better?" Mallory asked, still running her fingers through his hair, planting gentle kisses here and there.

She could feel him nod gently, his breathing still not completely even, although it was calming down. They both lay there in silence for several minutes before Colby broke the silence.

"I never want to lose you, Mallory," He said, gently running his fingers across her mid-section.

"I don't ever want to lose you, either, Colby," She replied, continuing to run her fingers through his hair.

When his breathing was completely calm, Mallory could tell that he had fallen asleep. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep, holding him in her arms.

Don woke up and looked at the clock. 4:00 am. He sighed and looked over to the bed David was lying in. Don could tell David was asleep by the even rising and falling of his chest. He rolled over and closed his eyes. Just then his phone began to ring, he opened his eyes and grabbed it off of the nightstand.

"Eppes," His muttered into the phone, groggily letting his heavy eyelids shut as the person on the other side of the phone began the conversation.

"Don Eppes," The person began, "I've heard so much about you,"

"What? Who is this?" Don said, opening his eyes, sitting up in bed.

"This, is your murderer." He replied, disconnecting the call.

_** Ok, so, this is a ridiculously short chapter… but I wanted it to end this way. I can't promise when the next chapter will be posted because I am crazy busy trying to get a lot of things ready for school. I did want to leave everybody waiting for something exciting… and that will come in the next chapter. :) **_


End file.
